The so called “smart electrical distribution panel,” or “smart panel” for short, is a load center type panel board, typically residential, which is able to monitor, and preferably control, the consumption of electricity in a house or office in order to obtain increased electrical demand control and cost control within the house and energy efficiency for the grid as a whole. The smart panel offers several advantages to the modern electrical grid user. However, there are no known systems/product architectures on the market today which will modernize and retrofit the large installed base of existing standard load centers lacking the necessary monitoring and control capabilities, and which provide four basic criteria for this retrofit, namely: 1) enabling easy installation of monitoring and control equipment securely into a load center like a plug on circuit breaker, while 2) enabling a user interface through the load center cover like a plug on circuit breaker, and 3) providing a scalable offer of functionality and control, starting with a “low cost” base unit that works alone with a basic number of Current Transformers (CTs), or other type power monitors, for monitoring and reporting on critical loads, and then adding other modules, such as an Expansion Module to do mass monitoring with additional CTs; or adding a Control Module for panels equipped with remotely operated breakers, all while 4) keeping the module sizes small and functions narrow, such that the low cost and small footprint of the base unit might be cost effective enough that the base unit could be included in the initial load center purchase, thus enabling a high rate of acceptance, connectivity, and interaction between end users and energy providers throughout the future residential grid.